Vengeur was the second of two Tempête-class ironclad coastal defence ships served in the French Navy (Marine Nationale) in the nineteenth century.

The ship had a generally uneventful career, spending most of her career in reserve, except a year as part of the Escadre d'evolutions between 1884 and 1885, where she served alongside the faster and deeper-draft ironclad Tonnerre, and 1889, where she particiated in a military exercise, successfully defending Cherbourg alongside fellow ironclad Tonnant.

'The Tempête class coastal defense ships were developed as a shallower-draught and slower complement to the Tonnerre classs.

Designed by the Naval architects Louis de Bussy to a specification issued on 10 November 1871 and inspired by the breastwork monitor Glatton, the class consisted of two vessels.

[4] Rated at 1,754 indicated horsepower (1,308 kW) at a boiler pressure of 4.133 kg/cm2 (58.79 psi), it was intended to give the ships a top speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

[6][7] Vengeur was originally designed to be primarily armed with a ram, but the addition of turret-mounted guns offered greater capability with increased complexity and cost.

[1] Ordered in January 1874 from the arsenal at Brest, Vengeur was laid down on 8 December, and launched at the shipyard in the city on 16 May 1878.

On 14 April, the vessel was travelling between Toulon and Villefranche along a battle squadron that included nine ironclads, two avisos and two torpedo boats when the flotilla was struck by a storm.